Toward Interventions in Human Resources for Health in Ghana

Despite some recent successes in Ghana, further improvements in health outcomes are in
part hampered by the lack of skilled service providers, or human resources for health (HRH),
particularly in rural areas, where critical health services are needed most. To address the
lack of information and guide the development of policies and programs on HRH, Toward
Interventions in Human Resources for Health in Ghana: Evidence for Health Workforce Planning
and Results aims to paint a comprehensive picture of HRH, consolidating new and existing
evidence on the stock, distribution, and performance of h ealth workers to focus on the what,
as in What is the situation on HRH? and the how, as in How is this situation explained?

The book highlights new evidence on some of the underlying determinants affecting
the stock, distribution, and performance of health workers in Ghana, including health
worker production and attrition, capacity to manage HRH, the capacity of health training
institutions, and health worker compensation. Policy options on HRH are also discussed, as is
the fi scal and political environment needed to develop and implement such interventions.

The data and findings presented in this book are the result of extended and close
collaboration between the Ghana Technical Working Group on HRH (led by the Ministry
of Health) and the World Bank’s Africa Region Technical Team on HRH. The information in
this book will provide a better basis for Ghanaian decision makers and external partners to
have a dialogue on HRH and related policies. More broadly, Toward Interventions in Human
Resources for Health in Ghana: Evidence for Health Workforce Planning and Results will be of
interest to all those working to improve human resources for health in Africa and beyond.